Kansai Airport Reopens Terminal 1

The operator of typhoon-hit Kansai International Airport in Japan has reopened part of its main passenger facility, Terminal 1. More than 120 flights will be handled at the terminal on Friday.

Terminal 2 resumed service last Friday using Runway B. The building mainly hosts operations for budget airlines. Storm surges caused by Typhoon Jebi largely spared that terminal even though most of the airport was flooded on September 4th.

But Terminal 1, which is used by a greater number of airlines, remained closed due to a power outage caused by the flooding.

The South Wing of Terminal 1 reopened on Friday. Passengers began to show up at the airport from around 6 AM.

A man who was heading back to the Tokyo area from neighboring Wakayama Prefecture welcomed news of the reopening. He said media reports of severe damage to the airport had led him to believe that even partial restoration of service would be a slow process. He added he hopes the airport will be restored fully.

122 flights -- 39 domestic and 83 international -- are expected to use Terminal 1 on Friday. A flight to Tokyo's Haneda airport was the first to leave the terminal around 7 AM.

The operator says it expects to get Terminal 1 fully up and running by reopening its North Wing on Friday of next week. The firm also hopes to resume operation of the railway linking the man-made island airport to the mainland the same day.

The road-rail access bridge to the airport was heavily damaged when the typhoon swept a tanker into it. Only some untouched road lanes are currently available for use.

And in a related development, the authorities and airport operators have agreed to redirect up to 70 flights per day to nearby Osaka International Airport in Itami and Kobe Airport.

Maison book girl have uploaded the PV for their new song "Semai Monogatari" onto their YouTube channel. "Semai Monogatari" will be included in the group's second album "yume" which will drop in stores on November 21. Co-directed by suzzken and Ninomiya Yuki, the PV portrays the song's worldview...more

Makihara Noriyuki will set out on a nationwide tour next spring. The tour will held to coincide the release of the singer's new album (currently untitled). It will kick off on March 2 at Kawaguchi Sogo Bunka Center Lilia in Saitama with the finale on July 28 at NHK Hall in Tokyo for a total of 42...more

AKB48's new overseas sister group SGO48 have recruited 29 first generation members. SGO48 received over 7,000 applications when they opened up the registration in August. After narrowing down the number of applicants based on the applications, they held interviews, and ended up with 120...more

MUSIC STATION has revealed the artist line up for its November 23rd broadcast.Next week's episode will feature performances from THE YELLOW MONKEY, JUJU, SEKAI NO OWARI, Nishino Kana, Hey! Say! JUMP, and Yuzu.

It's been announced that Keyakizaka46's Shida Makana has graduated from the group on November 16. Shida had been on temporary hiatus since May due to her poor health. To her fans, she wrote on the group's official website, "Thank you for your support while I was active in the group."

Yamashita Tomohisa has revealed the PVs for his new songs "You Make Me" and "Right moves" on his website. Both of these songs can be found in Yamashita's new album "UNLEASHED" to be released on November 28. "You Make Me" is an English song that was written by Yamashita himself, and in its PV,...more

aiko will hold her arena tour 'Love Like Pop vol.21' from January to March of next year. This was announced on November 18 at the NHK Hall show of her nationwide tour 'Love Like Pop vol.20.' The upcoming tour will host a total of six shows in three locations. You can check out the tour dates...more